👶👶👶👶 The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

This novel was certainly jarring, especially when read on the heels of the recent presidential election. The thought that women would suddenly be left with no rights at all (unless they’re in the highest echelon), is incredibly frightening. The author did a fine job of creating a terrifying society led primarily by white males.

The writing was rather unique, and certainly engaging, but the multitude of loose ends were irritating. Atwood certainly led me to ponder our society as a whole, and what it would take to break down the freedoms we hold so dear. At first I was baffled that a few reviewers considered this book a feminist novel.  I just didn't see how women being forced into sexual slavery in a theocratic society could be anything of the sort. However, I was enlightened by a fellow reader explaining that this is a feminist cautionary tale because it exposes the hypocritical objective of patriarchal religious extremism. That was an Aha! moment for me. 

Overall, it was a truly disturbing novel, written in a very thought-provoking manner.

*As an aside, the Hulu Original Series is really well done (though terribly disturbing).

Read 11/13/16